The Jew and Living in Ghetto

Ghetto was called to a uniform neighborhood and people who lived there were isolated based on their color, social level or racial discrimination. Later this term was used for Jews who were living there into alleys and neighborhoods especially east of Europe. Ghetto had general and specific meaning:
Ghetto as the general meaning was called to Jewish neighborhood or where poor Jewish people without any obligation or force by the government lived there. The historical review of the neighborhood refers to Greek and Roman empires but Ghetto in the specific meaning means which is more common; it’s a neighborhood where Jews lived there without any choice.
Derivation of the term is not clear. Some people said that Ghetto was a Jewish neighborhood in Venice near Vellgetto (cannon foundry) the other group believes that this term was derived from a Germanic word (Geheckter ort means a surrounded place by walls) another group knows it as a Hebrew and Talmudic word “Ghett” or “Gheitt” which means parted or separated but the most probable terminology of an Italian term is “Borghitto” which means a tiny part of the city and family.
Will Durant in his book the history of Civilization about the reasons of Ghetto believes that Venice was a good shelter for Jewish people for a long time. Many times there were efforts for exiling Jews from the city but the Senate of Venice supported them as effective businessmen and country’s financial. The effective parts of trades and exports of Venice were done by Jewish businessmen similarly they had important role about importing wool and silk form Spain and spices and pearl from India. Jews in Venice had occupied a neighborhood for their own which they call that “Jeudca”. In 1516 the Senate of Venice after negotiation with Israelis elders that they live in, except some of them who had special permission, a part of the city which was called Ghetto and apparently Ghetto is an Italian term which means foundry because in that neighborhood had been such a factory.
In Europe countries Ghetto neighborhoods were surrounded by high walls. The gates were locked by big locks and Jews were not allowed to exit after midnight, Sundays, and Christian holidays. There were strict rules and rights for opening and closing these gates which were operated by Christian guards. Jewish residents in Ghetto had to pay salary to these guards. It was mentioned in Britannica encyclopedia in the third and fourth Latiran conferences which were held by the west church society in 1179 and 1215 A.D. Jews should be separated from the society and Christians cannot live near them or service them because it is forbidden.
In order to, control Jews’ wickedness and sedition, their power was limited because this power was gained by trading plus they were forced to have specific symbols. From that time Jews were locked in their neighborhood and isolated. It was said that pope Paul the forth in 1555 to 1559 A.D. seated in Vatican church and he ordered to make the first official Jewish neighborhood in Europe after that European Catholic rulers followed this order and made another neighborhoods in 1603 A.D in Padua then Germanic Protestant dukes issued an official order about gathering Jews in a special neighborhoods in north of Europe too.
There were two kinds of rules were governing on Jews who were issued by kings and rulers and Jews needed to observe the rules about their relationships. Secondly, series of rules which organized Jews into Ghetto based on Talmudic religion. The second kind of rules was operated by a Jews committee included by 12 persons (as 12 companions of Moses) who had so much operational power. In this committee made decisions about marriage, divorce, punishment, arresting criminals and in some cases like execution.
The committee even could excommunicate somebody from Judaism based on their distinction like Baron Espinoza a Dutch philosopher. The relation of these Jews with exterior community of Ghetto was cold, artificial, and emotionless. This people looked at the society for making profits and know that place as a permissible one to do every action which was forbidden. Therefore, the exterior Ghetto society based on their view was considered emotionless and without any kindness, love, security and peace by Jews.
However, their views toward Ghetto neighborhood were full of spirituality and holiness. Thus they kept the holiness and showed their generosity and sacrifice and they realized their wishes and demands without any doubt or anxiety so, they were doing their religious orders one by one and in Saturdays they stopped working.
Always the leaders of Jewish people emphasized that Jews are a holy and selected nation and Ghetto is temporal and staying in this place is to be continued until Jews return to holy land and obtaining complete freedom. Jews by these empathies believed that their prevention from working and activity on Saturdays causes the advent of Messiah comes sooner and with his coming the situation of the world will be organized and Jewish nation will dominate on other countries.
Even they had tolerated suffers and pains out of Ghetto and they knew that as their superiority and distinction plus intensifying these suffers may be caused their freedom and rescue. These Ghettos during the time with their high walls they were built under the commands of high levels of the society. Similarly, obtaining Taxes were easily done and separating Jews from Christians and finally prevention Jews from escaping to the other cities.

An Image from the Situation of Ghetto

Jewish neighborhoods Ghetto were often located at the most polluted and inferior places of the cities. Sidewalks are tight and round about alleys without pavement, full of holes and garbage. Pouring sewage to the alleys made these sidewalks polluted and stinking. One of the features of Ghetto was overcrowded, noisy and staggering the loud voices of vendors for selling the goods which were carried on their shoulders or carts can be heard from all sides of the neighborhood.
Women gathering together on alleys on alleys and they were too noisy. Children were wandering there and playing or might defecate. There was too busy because of early marriages for example in Roman Ghetto 10000 Jews were living there just in one kilometer square and in Ghetto of Frankfurt there was 400000 Jews only in 190 houses which were into the very tight and long alley.
There was as much as overcrowding into Ghettos such as Loods Ghetto where in each of the houses there were 6 persons and in Vienna Ghetto each of the rooms there were 6-8 persons even when some families lived there at a same room. In spite of high population in these neighborhoods, government had special limitation for development of these neighborhoods. By this way building the new houses was not possible horizontally and Jews had to develop their houses vertically.
Therefore, Ghetto neighborhoods had high apartments which had ten floors and they were in the different parts of cities. Consequently, by continuing this situation and highly overcrowded neighborhoods and areas, the residents of Ghetto in many cases were victims of apartment collapses and sometimes parties would have been changed to mourning. Residents of higher floors get to the higher floors by tight stairs or by the rope and pulley which made the people in horrible danger.
Nights when the gates were closed thus no Jews can leave the area until opening the gates in the morning. In many of these cities on Sundays the gates were closed too if a Jew tried to escape from Ghetto when the gates were locked then he would be punished extremely. Living in Ghetto caused to occurring pathetic events. Residents of these neighborhoods were living in to the overcrowded places and when the houses burn in fire displacement of people was difficult.
Sometimes in some of situations people were burnt by fire. When the fire started no one could take out his luggage and escaping from fire was impossible for the most of the people. Thus, fire was always one of the terrible dangers of Ghetto residents. In each of Ghettos there were different types of trouble. For example, in Roman Ghetto which had tight alleys every year there was flood by Tiber River and some of their buildings were destroyed by the flood. They had to allow from pope for living into Ghetto and every year pope increased the cost of rent.
The worst misery of the residents was whenever the groups of gangsters attacked on Jews because it was an easy job for them and gangsters close the gates and Jews were trapped in there. Living in Ghetto was hard and unpleasant. Always the residents were worried, scare from gangsters’ attacks, hunger and illness.
In the case of cemetery, it was a problem for Jews because only a small area was for them. When the cemetery filled they couldn’t bury dead bodies based on their religion. They had to bury the dead bodies on the older dead bodies. However, the Jewish area of Eastern Europe like other European countries was full of population and they hadn’t any prohibition to develop their neighborhoods vertically. Therefore, buildings in these areas were not so high. Houses of Ghetto neighborhoods had not any toilets because of the height buildings and tight and narrow alleys, lack of sunshine and air circulation, rooms usually were humid and stinking.
Even windows were covered by woods or clothes instead of glasses. Some of Hews had to use their rooms as the places for daily jobs. Then, these rooms were simple and humble and all of these showed their misery and poverty. Since Jews never fell safety and security in their homes and always waited for danger or accidents. Thus they did not leave their precious things in their houses. Of course these were some Jews by trading became rich preferred to keep their liquidity and portable precious things near themselves to carry them in dangerous situations and escape. Some of Jews’ houses in Ghetto were as following a small and polluted promotional houses which were covered with lots of dried plants and branches of trees and strews and this caused to possible destructive and expanded firing.
It is worth to mention that on contrary of the outside world and different styles of building houses in these countries in Ghetto neighborhoods all of building houses in these countries were as same as in other countries. Usually in these neighborhoods there were several alleys which were tight, long, had ceilings and at the end of alleys the ceilings become narrow. Nevertheless, Jews know living in there as the best kind of lifestyle in the world. They believed that their medicine style as the most effective and best one and in the world and used to special kind of oil to clean filthiness.
Among these superstitious legends, religious leaders had effective idea on Jews’ spirit and thoughts, the common language in Ghetto was Jewish slang called Yiddish which was originally a blend of old Germanic and Hebrew words. This language by immigrant Jews from Germany moved to east of Europe and spread there. Each of Ghettos had three schools for children who were watched carefully to not be affected by outside environment. These schools were trying to feed child’s mind and emotions with Jewish concepts and traditions and the outside world by their views was full of mischievous and mean creatures which were signs of evils and they introduced the outside world people as four-legged creatures in the form of human.
This disorganized and cluttered situation of Ghetto wasn’t specific for old ages but this situation was to be continued until to contemporary ages in the first years of 1890 on the tenth street in New York there were 330000 Jews were living there in an area to one mile in square. By the beginning of 1917 700000 Jews were living at eastern area and more than 100000 Jews were in the inferior and polluted Brookline area when the majority of Jewish immigrants entered in New York resided in the 5 floors buildings which were uniform and one sized apartments.
Each room had one window which was opened to a balcony and at the and at the end of room there was an old black box which was used as a bed. The rent of theses humble and dirty rooms was 6 $ monthly in each of apartments there were several families usually the corridors, kitchens, and hole in alleys were full of garbage many children in the dirty condition were playing there.
In Jewish museum in New York there were some paintings on the walls which show the situation of Jewish neighborhoods in New York. The Israelis newspaper Davar in its weekly report in December the fourth 1966 published an article as “the story of Jewish neighborhoods” by Ruth Boundi. The writer in this article reported about the eastern Jewish neighborhoods in New York and described their disorganized, filthy, and pathetic situation.

Ghetto in the Contemporary ages

During the last centuries which the situation of society, politics, and culture of Europe had a basic change and Jews with a series of demands and wishes which were unclear and ambiguous but by chaos in Egypt and Syria issue of creating a Jewish country was proposed by England and Moshe Monty Fury was the first leader in this movement. On that time European Jews were in misery and abjection and lived out of cities in Ghetto neighborhoods had hard jobs while liberal and intellectuals in Austria were trying to fix this problem but Jews resisted against this movement and were not satisfied by this situation and rejected any kinds of civilization rights because these actions may cause Jewish extinction and resolving among other nations and removing selected nation by this way they preferred to live in Ghetto and in isolation than living near other people by honor.
After, great French revolution which the national parliament edited the constitution in 1791 A.D which all of French citizens are equal, liberal and free but Jews were disagreed with this law and asked to issue an exception for Jews. Anyway, changes after revolution and appearance of social relations and making slogans such as “human rights” in western countries walls of Ghetto by the pressure of nations and European government collapsed and intellectual and liberalism movements in European many of neighborhoods which were signs of corruption and lags were removed.
Bishop Ekram Lami wrote that in 1792-1793 Ghetto of Rayland was removed and Napoleon in years of 1796-1798 removed many of these Neighborhoods in Italy therefore, Jews found themselves out of Ghetto suddenly. Inevitably, gathered in smaller syndicates they got used to living in dark, dirty and tight Ghettos and may be underground life now they had to gather together into their conferences in the light and open environment cities.
Demolition of Ghetto was a new chapter in Jews’ life because from now one they fell that they need to live near the other citizens and experience a liberal and usual life but their passport to this new world was to become Christians though as they had to escape from torturing and disturbance they pretended to Christianity and baptized.
They fell that by losing their safe and reliable shelter they should work in social activities and work as others do. By ending the 18th century this thought became stronger. Carl Emil Franzos (1848-1904) was an Australian Journalist wrote that: American Jews had to choose one of these options: 1. Become an official Christian 2. To run away from psychological pressure pretend to Christianity but in their inner be a Jew 3. Tolerate tortures’ pressure and stay Jews.
Franzos added that: but Rochild family found another option which it was to gather money and gain economic power and overcome on the economic routes in the world and founding new special banks therefore, this family in order to escape from mentioned problems and become successful rapidly thus, from two centuries ago by removing the traditional and old neighborhoods and collapsing the walls of these castle we don’t see Ghettos anymore but because Jews have deep thought and idea about living in surrounded environment racially and spiritually now they resided into a big and modern which is called Israel.
Ben Gurion the former prime minister of Zionism regime in 1948-1963 said that: Israel has only one loyal ally which is the Jewish nation Israel is only world’s government has no religious, linguistic, and racial relatives but it is a nation which is alone in the world. Rougeh Prefet the French writer and diplomat knows Israel as a Ghetto which Arabs are its guards’ gates. In fact founding a Zionism government in Palestine was a response to tendencies, needs, ethics and racial of Jews to Ghetto. Zionism by making an illegal Israeli government started to make a great Ghetto and concentrated one to gather the Jews from around the world.
Rabbi Elmer emphasizes that Zionism movement was formed because Jews keep their lifestyle based on Ghetto and abuse from Holocaust for their own profits. Buildings defensive walls which were well equipped and strong like Barouk it is 80km long at the east coast of Suez channel which was built after six days wars in 1967 and paying about 100 million $ in north of Lebanon and it is 113 kilometers long and reminds the height fences of mount Barouk all of spiritual effects of there is about Ghetto and living among long walls of Jewish castles.
In this field Benjamin Eliezer defense minister of Israel in June 2002 opened the operation of building a security wall roundabout Quds according to MBC TV network it is a security wall include of barbed wire and a ditch and equipped walls by surveillance systems between occupied lands in 1948 and east coast of Jordan River and between Kafar Salem and Kafar Qasim ay 20km of Telaviv and 350km long will be built and the contract of this wall was signed by 20 contractors.
From the other hand, Krifield the professor of history in Hebrew university in Quds without saying the name of Ghetto talked about the height walls: the only way to solve Israelis and Palestine people is building a high wall between the nations and historical experiences proved advantages in China, Berlin and Cyprus. Therefore, it is necessary to build this wall to reduce tensions with Palestine people otherwise, our destiny would be defeat.